WEBVTT 00:00:03.679 --> 00:00:06.799 Hey all, Pastor John here. Thanks for tuning 00:00:06.799 --> 00:00:09.980 in to the weekly sermon podcast. We pray this 00:00:09.980 --> 00:00:12.740 message encourages you, strengthens your faith, 00:00:12.900 --> 00:00:15.359 and helps you to take your next step with Jesus. 00:00:16.079 --> 00:00:18.359 If this content blesses you and you'd like to 00:00:18.359 --> 00:00:20.500 be a part of helping us continue to bring the 00:00:20.500 --> 00:00:22.960 gospel to life, we'd love for you to consider 00:00:22.960 --> 00:00:26.079 supporting the ministry of village. Your generosity 00:00:26.079 --> 00:00:28.579 makes it possible for us to keep creating and 00:00:28.579 --> 00:00:31.670 sharing resources like this podcast. You can 00:00:31.670 --> 00:00:35.729 give safely and easily by visiting sacvillage 00:00:35.729 --> 00:00:39.390 .org slash give or by heading to our website 00:00:39.390 --> 00:00:43.350 at sacvillage .org. Thanks again for listening. 00:00:43.969 --> 00:00:54.820 Now let's dive into this week's message. Amen. 00:00:54.859 --> 00:00:56.920 Well, it's great to have one service this morning 00:00:56.920 --> 00:00:59.960 to all be together here, a packed house. We had 00:00:59.960 --> 00:01:01.740 to add some extra chairs just to make sure there 00:01:01.740 --> 00:01:05.180 was a little bit of elbow room. But I did want 00:01:05.180 --> 00:01:08.340 to let all of you parents know that we totally 00:01:08.340 --> 00:01:11.000 know that your kids are here and totally expect 00:01:11.000 --> 00:01:14.040 them to not be able to sit still. So don't feel 00:01:14.040 --> 00:01:16.879 any guilt or shame or anything like that whatsoever. 00:01:17.400 --> 00:01:19.780 We're excited to have them in here. And we're 00:01:19.780 --> 00:01:22.760 just going to embrace it all, right? All right. 00:01:22.920 --> 00:01:25.370 Yeah. Do you agree to that? All right, good. 00:01:26.030 --> 00:01:27.510 Good, good, because I just don't want any parents 00:01:27.510 --> 00:01:29.849 thinking, be quiet, be quiet, be quiet. I mean, 00:01:29.849 --> 00:01:34.870 you can shush them a little bit, but we're not 00:01:34.870 --> 00:01:37.870 worried about it. If you have your Bibles, I'll 00:01:37.870 --> 00:01:39.790 encourage you to turn over to Matthew chapter 00:01:39.790 --> 00:01:41.670 nine. That's where we've been for the last few 00:01:41.670 --> 00:01:44.969 weeks in our Breaking In series. Matthew chapter 00:01:44.969 --> 00:01:47.750 nine. And today we're going to finish off the 00:01:47.750 --> 00:01:51.090 chapter with verse 35 through 38. Matthew nine, 00:01:51.129 --> 00:01:53.829 35 through 38. So I'm going to read. The word 00:01:53.829 --> 00:01:55.750 is going to be up here on the screen as well. 00:01:56.269 --> 00:02:01.989 Matthew nine, 35 through 38. Jesus continued 00:02:01.989 --> 00:02:04.870 going around to all the towns and villages, teaching 00:02:04.870 --> 00:02:07.189 in their synagogues, preaching the good news 00:02:07.189 --> 00:02:10.169 of the kingdom and healing every disease and 00:02:10.169 --> 00:02:13.370 every sickness. When he saw the crowds, he felt 00:02:13.370 --> 00:02:16.289 compassion for them because they were distressed 00:02:16.289 --> 00:02:20.539 and dejected like sheep without a shepherd. And 00:02:20.539 --> 00:02:23.080 then he said to his disciples, the harvest is 00:02:23.080 --> 00:02:26.580 abounding or abundant, but the workers are few. 00:02:26.840 --> 00:02:29.280 Therefore pray to the Lord of the harvest to 00:02:29.280 --> 00:02:34.860 send out workers into his harvest. This is God's 00:02:34.860 --> 00:02:40.659 word. Amen. Amen. Any, any fellow people watchers 00:02:40.659 --> 00:02:43.699 out there, anyone that enjoy watching people 00:02:43.699 --> 00:02:46.719 park yourself on a bench somewhere and just watch, 00:02:46.819 --> 00:02:50.580 watch the different kinds of people. The well 00:02:50.580 --> 00:02:53.979 -put -together people, the weirdos, the weirder, 00:02:54.020 --> 00:02:57.219 the better, right? Just go sit in an aisle way 00:02:57.219 --> 00:03:01.750 at Walmart's. There you go. Take a gander. Well, 00:03:01.889 --> 00:03:04.610 I enjoy people watching. I love to people watch. 00:03:04.830 --> 00:03:07.289 You can put me on a bench on the side of a room 00:03:07.289 --> 00:03:09.729 or in a park or at an airport or wherever, and 00:03:09.729 --> 00:03:12.550 I'll just watch people all day get lost in all 00:03:12.550 --> 00:03:15.189 that's going on. And whether it's a mall or a 00:03:15.189 --> 00:03:18.530 stadium or an airport, actually, speaking of 00:03:18.530 --> 00:03:21.949 travel, me and my wife went through Japan on 00:03:21.949 --> 00:03:25.550 our way to Guam a little bit ago. And when we 00:03:25.550 --> 00:03:28.330 were in Japan, we decided we were going to venture 00:03:28.330 --> 00:03:31.150 out beyond just the airport. And so we're like, 00:03:31.250 --> 00:03:33.610 well, when in Japan, you take public transit, 00:03:33.789 --> 00:03:35.189 right? So we're like, well, let's just hop on 00:03:35.189 --> 00:03:37.610 one of those little train things. We go down 00:03:37.610 --> 00:03:41.129 to the train area, and oh my goodness, have I 00:03:41.129 --> 00:03:44.349 never seen more people in my life crammed into 00:03:44.349 --> 00:03:46.909 an underground space. And not just that, it's 00:03:46.909 --> 00:03:50.150 like, have you ever heard of a murmuration? A 00:03:50.150 --> 00:03:52.409 murmuration is when birds fly together and they 00:03:52.409 --> 00:03:54.469 kind of flock together like this swarm, right? 00:03:54.830 --> 00:03:56.050 Well, that's what it looked like, but it was 00:03:56.050 --> 00:03:58.610 people. They all knew exactly what to do. We 00:03:58.610 --> 00:04:01.370 had no idea what to do. And I started to panic. 00:04:01.449 --> 00:04:03.990 I'm standing in the middle of this sea of people 00:04:03.990 --> 00:04:06.509 swarming around us. Everyone knows exactly where 00:04:06.509 --> 00:04:08.310 they're going and they're moving at light speed. 00:04:08.639 --> 00:04:10.699 And we're standing there, and if I take one step 00:04:10.699 --> 00:04:13.120 forward, I'm gonna get crushed, right? Well, 00:04:13.360 --> 00:04:15.840 that was a place where seeing a lot of people 00:04:15.840 --> 00:04:18.379 was not all that fun, actually. People watching 00:04:18.379 --> 00:04:20.660 in that moment was not all that fun because it 00:04:20.660 --> 00:04:23.819 was overwhelming. It was happening so fast and 00:04:23.819 --> 00:04:26.259 the crowd was so great that I couldn't pay attention 00:04:26.259 --> 00:04:29.879 to any one person. I just had to get. out of 00:04:29.879 --> 00:04:32.240 there. And sometimes that can be the case with 00:04:32.240 --> 00:04:34.399 crowds. I know some of you aren't people watchers, 00:04:34.899 --> 00:04:36.699 some of you aren't even crowd people, right? 00:04:36.740 --> 00:04:38.319 You get in a crowd and you get a little anxious, 00:04:38.560 --> 00:04:42.259 right? A little overwhelmed. And I think that 00:04:42.259 --> 00:04:44.759 is oftentimes the feeling that we get, especially 00:04:44.759 --> 00:04:47.279 when we begin to try to connect with the people 00:04:47.279 --> 00:04:49.660 in the crowd, but we realize there's just so 00:04:49.660 --> 00:04:53.600 many people. And so oftentimes as a human, we'll 00:04:53.600 --> 00:04:56.199 somewhat detach, we'll begin to drift away from 00:04:56.199 --> 00:04:58.720 the crowd and we'll think, this is not my problem, 00:04:58.779 --> 00:05:02.399 these are not my people, it's just a crowd. In 00:05:02.399 --> 00:05:04.639 fact, most of us have learned at some point or 00:05:04.639 --> 00:05:07.779 another how to tune the world out just to survive, 00:05:07.939 --> 00:05:11.779 right? Tune the world out just to survive. But 00:05:11.779 --> 00:05:14.459 you know, Jesus, he doesn't tune out the world. 00:05:14.980 --> 00:05:17.420 And Jesus doesn't tune out the crowd, what he 00:05:17.420 --> 00:05:21.019 does is he leans in. He leans in and Matthew 00:05:21.019 --> 00:05:23.660 gives us this kind of short snapshot of Jesus's 00:05:23.660 --> 00:05:25.819 ministry He says that he's teaching and he's 00:05:25.819 --> 00:05:27.839 proclaiming the kingdom of God He's healing every 00:05:27.839 --> 00:05:30.300 disease and every affliction and then he says 00:05:30.300 --> 00:05:34.240 when he saw the crowds He didn't just see statistics. 00:05:34.699 --> 00:05:38.100 He didn't just see a problem. What Jesus saw 00:05:38.100 --> 00:05:43.100 was people Jesus isn't some detached spiritual 00:05:43.100 --> 00:05:47.000 guru who's floating above the mess. He is emotionally 00:05:47.000 --> 00:05:50.759 invested. He sees the lostness under the smiles, 00:05:51.699 --> 00:05:54.379 the desperation behind the quiet, the wounds 00:05:54.379 --> 00:05:58.990 behind the walls. The God of creation took on 00:05:58.990 --> 00:06:01.470 flesh, the flesh of humankind and he stepped 00:06:01.470 --> 00:06:03.970 down. Jesus the God man and the prophet Isaiah 00:06:03.970 --> 00:06:07.850 said that even he, the God man, Jesus was a man 00:06:07.850 --> 00:06:12.689 of sorrows acquainted with grief. But here is 00:06:12.689 --> 00:06:14.569 an important distinction that we need to make. 00:06:15.050 --> 00:06:17.949 Jesus's compassion for the crowd, Jesus's compassion 00:06:17.949 --> 00:06:20.829 for people is not the same thing as what our 00:06:20.829 --> 00:06:25.069 culture might call empathy. Right now we live 00:06:25.069 --> 00:06:28.920 in a world that has elevated empathy to the highest 00:06:28.920 --> 00:06:33.240 moral good. If you love me, you'll feel what 00:06:33.240 --> 00:06:36.600 I feel. You'll never try to change me. Instead, 00:06:36.839 --> 00:06:39.439 you'll affirm what I want. You'll never tell 00:06:39.439 --> 00:06:44.199 me I'm wrong. But that kind of empathy isn't 00:06:44.199 --> 00:06:47.079 compassion at all. It's emotional agreement without 00:06:47.079 --> 00:06:51.339 any moral direction. It's what some have come 00:06:51.339 --> 00:06:55.319 to call the sin of empathy. or more recently, 00:06:56.040 --> 00:07:00.220 suicidal empathy, because it asks us to drown 00:07:00.220 --> 00:07:04.579 with people rather than rescue them. And Jesus 00:07:04.579 --> 00:07:08.740 doesn't do that. He feels deeply, but he also 00:07:08.740 --> 00:07:13.639 feels truthfully. His compassion is not an emotional 00:07:13.639 --> 00:07:17.000 mirror. It's a holy love that moves him toward 00:07:17.000 --> 00:07:21.920 healing, toward truth, toward redemption. Jesus' 00:07:22.100 --> 00:07:24.379 compassion doesn't collapse under the weight 00:07:24.379 --> 00:07:28.019 of people's desires. Instead it stands true under 00:07:28.019 --> 00:07:31.660 the weight of their need. And after seeing the 00:07:31.660 --> 00:07:34.300 crowds and feeling this gut level compassion, 00:07:34.399 --> 00:07:37.060 Jesus then turns to his disciples and says, the 00:07:37.060 --> 00:07:40.800 harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. 00:07:41.319 --> 00:07:44.120 Ask the Lord of the harvest. to send out workers. 00:07:44.279 --> 00:07:47.639 And so today we're gonna explore how this introduction 00:07:47.639 --> 00:07:51.600 to this prayer pushes us out of our Western comforts 00:07:51.600 --> 00:07:54.319 and our predictable routines and instead thrust 00:07:54.319 --> 00:07:57.680 us into a world that Jesus died to save. Let's 00:07:57.680 --> 00:07:59.339 go, okay, let's go on this journey. And I'm gonna 00:07:59.339 --> 00:08:02.459 ask you this question to start off. Are you willing 00:08:02.459 --> 00:08:07.600 for God to disrupt your comfort so you can join 00:08:07.600 --> 00:08:11.300 him in the harvest? If you're taking notes, the 00:08:11.300 --> 00:08:13.439 first point I'll have you write down. Are you 00:08:13.439 --> 00:08:15.660 willing for God to disrupt your comforts to join 00:08:15.660 --> 00:08:17.540 him in the harvest? The first point is Jesus' 00:08:17.879 --> 00:08:22.480 gut level compassion. Number one, out of verse 00:08:22.480 --> 00:08:25.779 36, when Matthew tells us that Jesus had compassion 00:08:25.779 --> 00:08:29.300 on them, we can't read this in some sort of flat 00:08:29.300 --> 00:08:34.129 hallmark card style way. Jesus uses one of the 00:08:34.129 --> 00:08:36.610 strongest emotional words in Greek. It actually 00:08:36.610 --> 00:08:40.169 sounds kind of funky even. It's splak nizomai, 00:08:40.509 --> 00:08:43.509 splak nizomai in Greek. And what it means is 00:08:43.509 --> 00:08:47.049 it means your stomach turns, your intestines 00:08:47.049 --> 00:08:51.929 twist, your insides. It's a gut punch. Jesus, 00:08:51.990 --> 00:08:54.070 when it says he had compassion on the crowd, 00:08:54.730 --> 00:08:58.250 the word is his stomach turned, his insides twisted. 00:08:58.330 --> 00:09:02.419 He had a gut punch as he saw. You can feel it 00:09:02.419 --> 00:09:05.639 physically. And this is the kind of reaction 00:09:05.639 --> 00:09:08.259 you have when you see something so wrong, so 00:09:08.259 --> 00:09:11.559 heartbreaking, so unjust that it hits you in 00:09:11.559 --> 00:09:13.779 the gut before your mind even has time to process 00:09:13.779 --> 00:09:17.980 it. And that's the way Jesus feels when he looks 00:09:17.980 --> 00:09:22.500 at the crowds. Why does he feel this way? Well, 00:09:22.500 --> 00:09:24.720 Matthew gives us three descriptions. He says, 00:09:24.940 --> 00:09:28.399 Jesus feels this way because they were distressed. 00:09:29.450 --> 00:09:32.710 And that word distress means wounded or troubled, 00:09:33.649 --> 00:09:36.350 battered. It carries this idea of being beaten 00:09:36.350 --> 00:09:39.789 down by life, beaten down by sin, beaten down 00:09:39.789 --> 00:09:43.710 by shame and circumstances, by spiritual oppression. 00:09:44.950 --> 00:09:46.610 He had compassion because they were distressed. 00:09:46.750 --> 00:09:49.070 He had compassion because they were dejected, 00:09:49.110 --> 00:09:52.850 which literally means thrown down. thrown down. 00:09:52.950 --> 00:09:55.590 The picture is someone who's overwhelmed, so 00:09:55.590 --> 00:09:57.870 overwhelmed that they can't stand up on their 00:09:57.870 --> 00:10:00.230 own. It's not that they're weak, it's that they've 00:10:00.230 --> 00:10:03.990 been overpowered. They were distressed and they 00:10:03.990 --> 00:10:06.529 were dejected, but they were also like sheep 00:10:06.529 --> 00:10:11.169 without a shepherd. No direction, no protection, 00:10:11.309 --> 00:10:14.629 no one leading, guiding or guarding, correcting 00:10:14.629 --> 00:10:17.929 and caring for them. And what's the point that 00:10:17.929 --> 00:10:21.470 Matthew wants us to get? Well, when Jesus looks, 00:10:21.580 --> 00:10:25.200 When Jesus looks at people, Jesus sees beneath 00:10:25.200 --> 00:10:30.879 the surface. He doesn't see the well put together 00:10:30.879 --> 00:10:33.559 married couple who everyone wants to be like. 00:10:33.740 --> 00:10:38.100 He sees the pain and anxiety and exhaustion behind 00:10:38.100 --> 00:10:42.980 the smile. He doesn't see the person who mocks 00:10:42.980 --> 00:10:47.940 God. He sees the deep ache and turmoil that fuels 00:10:47.940 --> 00:10:52.929 the mocking. Where we see crowds, Jesus sees 00:10:52.929 --> 00:10:57.149 souls. Where we see problems, Jesus sees one 00:10:57.149 --> 00:11:02.470 more person that he loves and will die for. And 00:11:02.470 --> 00:11:05.330 that should lead us to ask an uncomfortable question, 00:11:05.830 --> 00:11:08.490 but a necessary one. What happens in me when 00:11:08.490 --> 00:11:12.889 I see the crowds? What stirs in my heart? Is 00:11:12.889 --> 00:11:18.250 it compassion or is it annoyance? Is it love 00:11:18.250 --> 00:11:23.169 or is it avoidance? What happens in me because 00:11:23.169 --> 00:11:25.889 the truth is that our default setting is not 00:11:25.889 --> 00:11:29.789 Jesus's compassion amen Our default setting is 00:11:29.789 --> 00:11:33.690 not Jesus's compassion our default setting is 00:11:33.690 --> 00:11:38.169 self -protection We feel overwhelmed by people's 00:11:38.169 --> 00:11:41.350 problems. We feel under equipped to to deal with 00:11:41.350 --> 00:11:44.250 them We we fear getting pulled into their mess. 00:11:44.250 --> 00:11:47.009 We guard our comfort. We guard our privacy. We 00:11:47.009 --> 00:11:51.509 guard our time And when we do feel something, 00:11:51.549 --> 00:11:54.190 it's often shaped more by the world's definition 00:11:54.190 --> 00:11:59.370 of empathy than by Jesus's compassion. Our culture 00:11:59.370 --> 00:12:02.909 tells us empathy means feeling exactly what the 00:12:02.909 --> 00:12:05.230 other person feels, affirming everything they 00:12:05.230 --> 00:12:07.470 feel, agreeing with everything they want. But 00:12:07.470 --> 00:12:11.889 listen, that's not true compassion. That's emotional 00:12:11.889 --> 00:12:17.230 imitation without truth. It's sympathy without 00:12:17.230 --> 00:12:20.259 discernment. It's what some have called this 00:12:20.259 --> 00:12:23.039 sin of empathy or suicidal empathy, because it 00:12:23.039 --> 00:12:25.820 leads us to collapse into someone else's emotional 00:12:25.820 --> 00:12:28.799 world, even when their emotions are leading them 00:12:28.799 --> 00:12:33.960 away from God. That kind of empathy asks you 00:12:33.960 --> 00:12:36.480 to drown with someone instead of throwing them 00:12:36.480 --> 00:12:40.879 a lifeline. It asks you to validate their hurt, 00:12:40.899 --> 00:12:43.980 but never guide them toward truth. Never guide 00:12:43.980 --> 00:12:47.500 them toward healing. It asks you to affirm their 00:12:47.500 --> 00:12:50.220 self -destruction rather than call them toward 00:12:50.220 --> 00:12:56.899 true life. Jesus doesn't do that. Jesus feels 00:12:56.899 --> 00:13:00.700 deeply, but at the same time, he feels truthfully. 00:13:02.200 --> 00:13:04.820 His compassion is not sentimental and it's not 00:13:04.820 --> 00:13:07.720 blind. It's holy compassion. It's anchored in 00:13:07.720 --> 00:13:10.860 truth. It moves him toward the person. Yes, absolutely. 00:13:10.919 --> 00:13:13.860 But it also moves him to rescue the person from 00:13:13.860 --> 00:13:19.000 the pit that they're in. This is the compassion 00:13:19.000 --> 00:13:23.820 that moved him to enter our world. The love that 00:13:23.820 --> 00:13:26.879 called him to bear our sins, carry our cross, 00:13:27.279 --> 00:13:30.159 and rise for our salvation. C .S. Lewis once 00:13:30.159 --> 00:13:33.500 put it this way, he said, love is not affectionate 00:13:33.500 --> 00:13:37.360 feeling. Love is not affectionate feeling, but 00:13:37.360 --> 00:13:42.039 a steady wish for the loved person's ultimate 00:13:42.039 --> 00:13:48.269 good. You see, This is the compassion that's 00:13:48.269 --> 00:13:52.210 born of love, that refuses to let sin destroy 00:13:52.210 --> 00:13:56.850 us, even when we're convinced, committed, convicted 00:13:56.850 --> 00:13:59.889 in ourselves, in our sin -distorted minds, to 00:13:59.889 --> 00:14:04.370 walk right off the cliff of sin. And Jesus says, 00:14:04.809 --> 00:14:07.690 I will enter the world with a kind of love and 00:14:07.690 --> 00:14:10.590 compassion, not like the world's empathy, not 00:14:10.590 --> 00:14:13.740 like the world's compassion. but a unique kind 00:14:13.740 --> 00:14:16.580 of agape love, a love of self -sacrificing, laying 00:14:16.580 --> 00:14:19.399 down my life for you that you might be plucked 00:14:19.399 --> 00:14:22.379 from the pit, not left there. I'm not going to 00:14:22.379 --> 00:14:27.039 join you there and just sit and swallow. We're 00:14:27.039 --> 00:14:30.940 getting out of here. And Matthew wants us to 00:14:30.940 --> 00:14:33.019 see that that's the heart of the kingdom of God. 00:14:33.230 --> 00:14:35.470 And that's the heart of the King of the kingdom 00:14:35.470 --> 00:14:39.169 of God, Jesus. Jesus has moved, he's deeply moved, 00:14:39.470 --> 00:14:41.769 emotionally moved by the suffering of the people 00:14:41.769 --> 00:14:44.429 in front of him. Jesus is so moved that he's 00:14:44.429 --> 00:14:48.929 moved to act for their ultimate good, to rescue 00:14:48.929 --> 00:14:53.470 them. And so Jesus's gut wrenching compassion, 00:14:53.529 --> 00:14:56.549 number two, if you're taking notes, Jesus's diagnosis, 00:14:56.990 --> 00:15:02.200 verse 37, after seeing Or after feeling this 00:15:02.200 --> 00:15:04.559 gut -level compassion, he turns to his disciples 00:15:04.559 --> 00:15:07.320 and he gives them an interpretation of what they're 00:15:07.320 --> 00:15:09.220 seeing because the disciples don't yet understand. 00:15:10.720 --> 00:15:15.559 They see a crowd and Jesus sees a harvest. They 00:15:15.559 --> 00:15:19.440 see a crowd and Jesus sees a harvest. The harvest 00:15:19.440 --> 00:15:25.820 is plentiful, but the workers are few. If you 00:15:25.820 --> 00:15:28.159 and I were there standing beside Jesus, I'm not 00:15:28.159 --> 00:15:29.899 sure that that would be our diagnosis. We might 00:15:29.899 --> 00:15:32.259 say something like, Jesus, the need is too overwhelming. 00:15:33.200 --> 00:15:36.419 The need is too overwhelming. Jesus, this is 00:15:36.419 --> 00:15:38.620 way too much for us to handle. We're a small 00:15:38.620 --> 00:15:42.419 little crew here, right? We do odd jobs, side 00:15:42.419 --> 00:15:44.740 jobs. We don't do big jobs, right? This is a 00:15:44.740 --> 00:15:49.779 big job, right? Or Jesus, some of us might be 00:15:49.779 --> 00:15:51.720 standing next to Jesus and go, Jesus, really, 00:15:51.899 --> 00:15:55.980 them? I don't know. I don't know if I want them 00:15:55.980 --> 00:16:01.720 in the crew. But Jesus refused to call the crowds 00:16:01.720 --> 00:16:08.460 a burden. He calls them a harvest. A harvest 00:16:08.460 --> 00:16:11.360 is not a problem. A harvest is an opportunity. 00:16:12.360 --> 00:16:14.820 And not just that, a harvest is a sign of God's 00:16:14.820 --> 00:16:17.159 activity. He's already been preparing the hearts 00:16:17.159 --> 00:16:21.450 long before we ever show up. Right? Cause a harvest 00:16:21.450 --> 00:16:23.330 is a result of planting and watering. I don't 00:16:23.330 --> 00:16:25.029 know if any of you guys have a green thumb. I 00:16:25.029 --> 00:16:27.950 don't, but if you do, you know that you, you 00:16:27.950 --> 00:16:29.730 get it after you plant and you water something, 00:16:29.850 --> 00:16:32.509 then you harvest later. Right. And if there's 00:16:32.509 --> 00:16:35.149 a harvest, if Jesus sees a harvest among the 00:16:35.149 --> 00:16:37.289 crowds, then that means there's been someone 00:16:37.289 --> 00:16:40.090 prepared it. There was activity before to prepare 00:16:40.090 --> 00:16:45.490 the harvest to be brought in. Listen to this 00:16:45.490 --> 00:16:49.470 friends to Jesus. The spiritual readiness of 00:16:49.470 --> 00:16:54.610 the world is never the issue. To Jesus, the spiritual 00:16:54.610 --> 00:16:57.750 readiness of the world is never an issue. People 00:16:57.750 --> 00:17:02.450 are always searching and aching. People are always 00:17:02.450 --> 00:17:05.609 hungry for truth and identity and belonging and 00:17:05.609 --> 00:17:08.789 forgiveness and hope. The problem is not lack 00:17:08.789 --> 00:17:15.309 of harvest. The problem is lack of workers. You 00:17:15.309 --> 00:17:17.789 see, first off, Jesus sees spiritual hunger that 00:17:17.789 --> 00:17:23.430 we overlook. We see a casual conversation and 00:17:23.430 --> 00:17:28.569 Jesus sees an eternal door opening. We see a 00:17:28.569 --> 00:17:32.269 coworker who can't stop venting and Jesus sees 00:17:32.269 --> 00:17:36.509 a heart that is longing for hope. We see a neighbor 00:17:36.509 --> 00:17:39.049 who keeps to himself and Jesus sees a man who 00:17:39.049 --> 00:17:43.730 goes to bed lonely every single night. The harvest 00:17:43.730 --> 00:17:48.710 is plentiful if we just look. Jesus also sees 00:17:48.710 --> 00:17:52.950 opportunity where we see inconvenience. Many 00:17:52.950 --> 00:17:55.390 times God puts people in our path that we interpret 00:17:55.390 --> 00:17:59.250 as just interruptions. But interruptions were 00:17:59.250 --> 00:18:02.710 often the very moments that Jesus used most powerfully 00:18:02.710 --> 00:18:06.069 to advance the kingdom. The woman that we talked 00:18:06.069 --> 00:18:09.299 about with the issue of blood. That was an interruption. 00:18:09.740 --> 00:18:12.400 Jairus's daughter, blind Bartimaeus, Zacchaeus, 00:18:12.519 --> 00:18:15.259 the crowds, the hungry crowds, all interruptions, 00:18:15.660 --> 00:18:21.160 all divine appointments. And finally, Jesus sees 00:18:21.160 --> 00:18:25.599 readiness where we feel resistance. For some 00:18:25.599 --> 00:18:28.259 of us, we've bought the lie that people don't 00:18:28.259 --> 00:18:31.779 want the gospel. We believe that people don't 00:18:31.779 --> 00:18:35.180 want the gospel. But Jesus says the opposite. 00:18:35.559 --> 00:18:40.220 People are more ready than you think. I've used 00:18:40.220 --> 00:18:41.920 this stat before. Some of you guys have heard 00:18:41.920 --> 00:18:44.480 it before. It just blows my mind every time I 00:18:44.480 --> 00:18:47.079 read it. I read it again straight from the source 00:18:47.079 --> 00:18:52.200 this morning. But 82 % of unchurched people said 00:18:52.200 --> 00:18:54.319 they would go to church if someone would invite 00:18:54.319 --> 00:18:58.480 them. 82 % of unchurched people said they would 00:18:58.480 --> 00:19:00.569 go to church In other words, they would take 00:19:00.569 --> 00:19:04.329 an action, take a step, seeking after truth if 00:19:04.329 --> 00:19:06.130 someone would just invite them. And did you know 00:19:06.130 --> 00:19:10.210 that same survey found that only 2 % of regular 00:19:10.210 --> 00:19:12.829 church attenders regularly invite someone to 00:19:12.829 --> 00:19:16.309 church. 82 % of un -churched people say they 00:19:16.309 --> 00:19:19.450 would go, and only 2 % of church people ever 00:19:19.450 --> 00:19:23.589 invite them. If that's not evidence of a harvest 00:19:23.589 --> 00:19:27.230 field ready to be reaped, ready to be brought 00:19:27.230 --> 00:19:30.950 in, and also an evidence of a lack of workers. 00:19:31.769 --> 00:19:35.430 I don't know what is. There are prodigals that 00:19:35.430 --> 00:19:38.190 are ready to come home if someone will just invite 00:19:38.190 --> 00:19:42.170 them. There are weary souls ready to collapse 00:19:42.170 --> 00:19:45.289 into grace if someone will just tell them it 00:19:45.289 --> 00:19:51.250 exists. This old school quote from John Wesley, 00:19:52.029 --> 00:19:54.650 he's gonna use words that you can kind of fudge 00:19:54.650 --> 00:19:56.210 with a little bit. He'll say preachers, but he's 00:19:56.210 --> 00:19:58.500 not really talking about preachers as in, what 00:19:58.500 --> 00:20:00.319 I'm doing right now. He's talking about anyone 00:20:00.319 --> 00:20:01.940 who will proclaim the kingdom, the good news 00:20:01.940 --> 00:20:04.200 of the kingdom. And this is what he says, give 00:20:04.200 --> 00:20:07.660 me 100 preachers who fear nothing but sin and 00:20:07.660 --> 00:20:10.720 desire nothing but God. And I care not a straw, 00:20:10.880 --> 00:20:13.960 whether they be clergymen or laymen, such alone 00:20:13.960 --> 00:20:16.839 will shake the gates of hell and reveal the kingdom 00:20:16.839 --> 00:20:20.539 of heaven on earth. Give me 100 people who will 00:20:20.539 --> 00:20:25.259 go out and do it. What could happen in your neighborhood, 00:20:26.019 --> 00:20:28.880 in your life, If just 100 of, I don't know how 00:20:28.880 --> 00:20:30.259 many people are here right now, but a hundred 00:20:30.259 --> 00:20:33.279 of us from village went out on mission, the kingdom 00:20:33.279 --> 00:20:37.039 of God, to reveal what Christ is doing and invite 00:20:37.039 --> 00:20:41.299 people into the good news of Jesus. Jesus looks 00:20:41.299 --> 00:20:43.259 at the same world that you and I look at and 00:20:43.259 --> 00:20:48.500 he says, the harvest is plentiful. God is doing 00:20:48.500 --> 00:20:51.819 more than you think. God is working in people 00:20:51.819 --> 00:20:54.960 that you've written off. God is drawing people 00:20:54.960 --> 00:20:58.200 that you assumed were closed. and God is softening 00:20:58.200 --> 00:21:02.119 hearts that we don't even notice. And if all 00:21:02.119 --> 00:21:04.099 we see are problems, we will miss the harvest 00:21:04.099 --> 00:21:07.640 that's standing right in front of us. Jesus turns 00:21:07.640 --> 00:21:10.099 to his disciples who are ordinary, insecure, 00:21:10.460 --> 00:21:13.720 and inconsistent people. And he says, I see a 00:21:13.720 --> 00:21:18.299 harvest, but I don't see enough workers. Jesus 00:21:18.299 --> 00:21:20.880 is preparing his disciples, and he's preparing 00:21:20.880 --> 00:21:25.799 us for what comes next, a prayer. that is going 00:21:25.799 --> 00:21:28.500 to interrupt our comfort and reorder our lives. 00:21:28.839 --> 00:21:30.359 So if you're taking notes, the final point I'll 00:21:30.359 --> 00:21:35.700 have you write is the disruptive prayer. He gives 00:21:35.700 --> 00:21:37.900 the solution, and we might expect him to say, 00:21:38.200 --> 00:21:40.019 well, the harvest is plentiful, the workers are 00:21:40.019 --> 00:21:42.920 few, go. But he actually doesn't say that, not 00:21:42.920 --> 00:21:47.839 yet. Instead, what he says is, therefore, pray 00:21:47.839 --> 00:21:50.799 to the Lord of the harvest to send out workers 00:21:50.799 --> 00:21:54.500 into his harvest. Pray to the Lord before Jesus 00:21:54.500 --> 00:21:56.960 ever sends his disciples into the harvest in 00:21:56.960 --> 00:21:59.279 chapter 10 the very next chapter He commands 00:21:59.279 --> 00:22:04.220 them to pray for workers Why because mission 00:22:04.220 --> 00:22:09.019 is never first a human strategy Mission the gospel 00:22:09.019 --> 00:22:11.359 mission is never first a human strategy. The 00:22:11.359 --> 00:22:16.400 gospel mission is first divine initiative The 00:22:16.400 --> 00:22:20.799 harvest belongs to the Lord He prepares hearts 00:22:21.039 --> 00:22:24.599 He owns and draws people. He brings conviction. 00:22:24.720 --> 00:22:27.799 He awakens faith. And in fact, the word here 00:22:27.799 --> 00:22:30.119 where it says, therefore pray the Lord to harvest 00:22:30.119 --> 00:22:33.339 to send out workers. This is interesting. The 00:22:33.339 --> 00:22:35.380 word that's used there in the Greek, it means 00:22:35.380 --> 00:22:41.319 to thrust out, hurl, drive out with force, push 00:22:41.319 --> 00:22:47.890 beyond resistance. So the prayer. That same word, 00:22:48.069 --> 00:22:50.430 the send out word in Greek is the same word that 00:22:50.430 --> 00:22:52.390 is used throughout the New Testament anytime 00:22:52.390 --> 00:22:56.690 Jesus casts out demons. Anytime Jesus casts out 00:22:56.690 --> 00:23:00.230 demons, it's the same word that's send out. The 00:23:00.230 --> 00:23:02.609 same word for driving someone out of a place 00:23:02.609 --> 00:23:05.369 they would not want to leave on their own, send 00:23:05.369 --> 00:23:11.109 out. This is not a gentle nudge, friends. This 00:23:11.109 --> 00:23:15.619 is not a polite invitation. The prayer that Jesus 00:23:15.619 --> 00:23:18.819 instructs his disciples to pray is a prayer asking 00:23:18.819 --> 00:23:22.339 God to forcefully disrupt the lives of his people 00:23:22.339 --> 00:23:26.099 for the sake of the gospel. Forcefully disrupt 00:23:26.099 --> 00:23:28.460 the lives of his people for the sake of the gospel. 00:23:28.779 --> 00:23:31.059 Father, shove your people into the harvest field 00:23:31.059 --> 00:23:35.240 because left to themselves, they won't go. Well, 00:23:35.240 --> 00:23:37.460 why? Because we are naturally comfort seeking, 00:23:37.900 --> 00:23:40.000 risk averse, control loving people, aren't we? 00:23:42.430 --> 00:23:46.589 We like what is predictable. We want what is 00:23:46.589 --> 00:23:50.150 safe. We settle into routines. We defend our 00:23:50.150 --> 00:23:54.130 margins. We build comfortable pockets in our 00:23:54.130 --> 00:23:59.049 Western lifestyle and call that stability. Jesus 00:23:59.049 --> 00:24:03.509 says pray that God breaks that. Pray that God 00:24:03.509 --> 00:24:07.970 disrupts it. Pray that God casts his people into 00:24:07.970 --> 00:24:12.309 the mission field. But you know what, if we pray 00:24:12.309 --> 00:24:16.789 that prayer honestly, it will cost us something. 00:24:18.670 --> 00:24:21.170 Because it is impossible to pray for workers 00:24:21.170 --> 00:24:23.769 in the harvest without becoming a part of the 00:24:23.769 --> 00:24:29.049 answer to that prayer. You can't say to God, 00:24:29.309 --> 00:24:33.190 your will be done without also saying, I desire 00:24:33.190 --> 00:24:39.329 to do your will. Your will be done, but I desire 00:24:39.329 --> 00:24:42.339 to do your will. This prayer is dangerous. This 00:24:42.339 --> 00:24:44.700 prayer is dangerous because this prayer reorients 00:24:44.700 --> 00:24:48.420 our life around God's mission. When we pray this 00:24:48.420 --> 00:24:50.440 prayer, we are inviting God to do things like 00:24:50.440 --> 00:24:54.500 this, rearrange our priorities, interrupt our 00:24:54.500 --> 00:24:58.700 schedules, disrupt our job security, reassign 00:24:58.700 --> 00:25:02.619 our comforts, break our apathy, expand our capacity 00:25:02.619 --> 00:25:06.220 to love, wake us up from spiritual dryness or 00:25:06.220 --> 00:25:09.440 deadness, open our mouths when we'd rather be 00:25:09.440 --> 00:25:14.480 silent. Friends, this prayer dismantles the false 00:25:14.480 --> 00:25:18.420 and dangerous idea that following Jesus is primarily 00:25:18.420 --> 00:25:26.559 about spiritual self -care. Yes, Jesus heals 00:25:26.559 --> 00:25:30.160 and restores, but he doesn't call us into a life 00:25:30.160 --> 00:25:34.880 of comfort. He calls us into a life on mission. 00:25:37.079 --> 00:25:39.920 Christianity isn't a therapeutic escape from 00:25:39.920 --> 00:25:44.400 the world. It's a spirit empowered sending out 00:25:44.400 --> 00:25:48.279 into the world. And when we pray this prayer, 00:25:48.339 --> 00:25:50.420 we're surrendering our preferences, our safety, 00:25:50.779 --> 00:25:53.180 our comfort to the greater work of the kingdom. 00:25:55.019 --> 00:26:00.519 Jesus doesn't form consumers. Jesus forms workers. 00:26:01.680 --> 00:26:04.339 Say that again. He doesn't form consumers. He 00:26:04.339 --> 00:26:09.319 forms workers. Amen? And Jesus says the harvest 00:26:09.319 --> 00:26:12.220 is overflowing with people. who don't yet know 00:26:12.220 --> 00:26:15.140 Him, and our comfort cannot be more important 00:26:15.140 --> 00:26:20.440 than their eternity. We want nice routines, predictable 00:26:20.440 --> 00:26:24.079 rhythms, hear me out, I love it. Control over 00:26:24.079 --> 00:26:27.319 my calendar, enough margin to protect my peace, 00:26:27.720 --> 00:26:29.980 margin in every area of my life to protect my 00:26:29.980 --> 00:26:33.019 peace. I want that too, but Jesus wants our availability, 00:26:33.180 --> 00:26:35.359 He wants our obedience, He wants our surrender, 00:26:35.640 --> 00:26:41.079 He wants our willingness to be sent. The kingdom 00:26:41.079 --> 00:26:45.420 of God is good news for the world. But it is 00:26:45.420 --> 00:26:50.480 also a sort of division to rouse the complacent. 00:26:51.180 --> 00:26:55.180 Prayer changes what we see. It widens our vision, 00:26:55.519 --> 00:26:58.279 it softens our heart, it moves us from someone 00:26:58.279 --> 00:27:01.359 else should go and do something about that to 00:27:01.359 --> 00:27:07.460 here I am Lord, send me. And ultimately this 00:27:07.460 --> 00:27:11.440 prayer, beyond all of that, is really at its 00:27:11.440 --> 00:27:14.200 base about becoming like Jesus. Who wants to 00:27:14.200 --> 00:27:17.200 become like Jesus? Anyone? Anyone who would be 00:27:17.200 --> 00:27:19.920 formed and shaped to become like Jesus? He's 00:27:19.920 --> 00:27:25.200 better than I am. I wanna become like him. This 00:27:25.200 --> 00:27:27.940 prayer, this prayer that he's saying to thrust 00:27:27.940 --> 00:27:30.680 people out into the harvest field that is ultimately 00:27:30.680 --> 00:27:35.539 answered by us. That's the secret part. That's 00:27:35.539 --> 00:27:38.079 the chapter 10 part. He tells them to pray for 00:27:38.079 --> 00:27:39.960 people to be thrust out. And then he turns back 00:27:39.960 --> 00:27:42.319 to them and says, you're the answer to that prayer. 00:27:44.079 --> 00:27:45.819 And you're not going to take anything that's 00:27:45.819 --> 00:27:47.299 going to give you security. You're not going 00:27:47.299 --> 00:27:49.619 to take anything that is going to help provide 00:27:49.619 --> 00:27:52.920 for you. You're going to go out empty handed, 00:27:53.240 --> 00:27:58.359 and I'm going to sustain you through it. And 00:27:58.359 --> 00:28:00.359 I think the kingdom of God, man, sometimes it 00:28:00.359 --> 00:28:02.420 is good news. But to the complacent, to those 00:28:02.420 --> 00:28:04.319 who have said, I will follow, but then sit on 00:28:04.319 --> 00:28:07.250 their butt, it is like a sword of division. that 00:28:07.250 --> 00:28:09.289 comes in and thrusts in and says, hey, I'm gonna 00:28:09.289 --> 00:28:11.230 wake you from your complacent. You need to choose 00:28:11.230 --> 00:28:15.690 today who you will serve, who you will surrender 00:28:15.690 --> 00:28:19.230 to, who you will obey, who you will follow today. 00:28:19.930 --> 00:28:21.950 Sometimes that gospel call comes in. That is 00:28:21.950 --> 00:28:23.809 good news too, even if it doesn't feel like it. 00:28:27.769 --> 00:28:29.450 Ultimately, the prayer is about becoming like 00:28:29.450 --> 00:28:33.430 Jesus. You see, he was the worker, the father 00:28:33.430 --> 00:28:37.359 sent into the harvest field. Jesus was the worker 00:28:37.359 --> 00:28:41.240 who the Father sent. He left the comfort of heaven. 00:28:42.359 --> 00:28:45.740 He was thrust into the brokenness of this world. 00:28:45.920 --> 00:28:48.019 He moved toward the crowds, not away from them. 00:28:48.180 --> 00:28:50.460 He entered into our suffering, the loneliness, 00:28:50.680 --> 00:28:53.299 the sin and sickness. He preached the good news 00:28:53.299 --> 00:28:55.779 of the kingdom of God. He healed the sick. He 00:28:55.779 --> 00:28:58.319 took up the cross of our shame and suffering 00:28:58.319 --> 00:29:03.640 in order to bring one more home to God. And so 00:29:03.640 --> 00:29:07.039 you see the prayer is also about alignment. It's 00:29:07.039 --> 00:29:09.200 about formation and discipleship. It's about 00:29:09.200 --> 00:29:12.559 what it means to follow Jesus. We think follow 00:29:12.559 --> 00:29:15.660 Jesus is just some super abstract thing, right? 00:29:15.660 --> 00:29:20.000 Like I follow Jesus emotionally, right? And that's 00:29:20.000 --> 00:29:22.819 it, right? I just follow. No, following Jesus 00:29:22.819 --> 00:29:25.519 is heart, soul, mind, strength. It's the whole 00:29:25.519 --> 00:29:28.420 thing. It's all of us. And to follow Jesus is 00:29:28.420 --> 00:29:32.880 not just some mere abstract Ouija board. Christian 00:29:32.880 --> 00:29:35.240 Ouija board like, what do you want me to, it's 00:29:35.240 --> 00:29:38.240 look to Jesus, look what Jesus did, imitate Jesus, 00:29:38.359 --> 00:29:42.079 be like Jesus. And so when he went and preached, 00:29:42.180 --> 00:29:45.059 what should we be doing people? Preach the good 00:29:45.059 --> 00:29:47.339 news of the kingdom of God wherever we go. When 00:29:47.339 --> 00:29:50.160 he bound up the wounded, what should we do? Bind 00:29:50.160 --> 00:29:52.859 up the wounds, break the chains of bondage. That's 00:29:52.859 --> 00:29:54.819 what we should do because it's ultimately about 00:29:54.819 --> 00:29:57.740 alignment, formation and discipleship. What it 00:29:57.740 --> 00:29:59.960 means to follow Jesus and allow his heart to 00:29:59.960 --> 00:30:03.289 be shaped in us. allowing him to work in us until 00:30:03.289 --> 00:30:06.109 compassion leads to prayer and prayer leads to 00:30:06.109 --> 00:30:11.529 mission. Are you willing for God to interrupt 00:30:11.529 --> 00:30:15.950 you? Are we willing for God to break our routines? 00:30:16.390 --> 00:30:18.630 Are we willing for God to make us uncomfortable 00:30:18.630 --> 00:30:24.589 now for the sake of eternal joy? Sign me up. 00:30:26.289 --> 00:30:31.019 And I won't regret it later. The moment we begin 00:30:31.019 --> 00:30:34.119 praying this prayer, God will begin to answer 00:30:34.119 --> 00:30:40.039 it in us and through us. And so in conclusion 00:30:40.039 --> 00:30:45.720 today, Matthew 9, 35 through 38 doesn't end with 00:30:45.720 --> 00:30:47.940 a command to go. It actually comes in the next 00:30:47.940 --> 00:30:51.700 chapter. It ends with an invitation for us to 00:30:51.700 --> 00:30:55.539 pray. And that is where the application begins. 00:30:55.960 --> 00:31:00.349 We began by saying, we need to pray for Jesus's 00:31:00.349 --> 00:31:05.589 heart to form in us. If we look at the crowds 00:31:05.589 --> 00:31:09.509 and all we feel is indifference or worse, then 00:31:09.509 --> 00:31:11.970 we haven't yet had the gut punch of compassion 00:31:11.970 --> 00:31:16.309 that Jesus felt. We need that. Mission without 00:31:16.309 --> 00:31:18.490 that is not going to be effective. That's why 00:31:18.490 --> 00:31:20.930 we have to pray first. Before God sends us into 00:31:20.930 --> 00:31:23.710 the harvest, he has to shape our hearts to match 00:31:23.710 --> 00:31:30.940 his heart. And some of us, need to pray. Some 00:31:30.940 --> 00:31:34.000 of us need to pray, Jesus, let me see people 00:31:34.000 --> 00:31:37.480 the way that you see people. Some of us need 00:31:37.480 --> 00:31:40.440 to pray, give me that gut punch of your compassion. 00:31:40.759 --> 00:31:43.500 And some of us need to pray, break the cynicism 00:31:43.500 --> 00:31:47.279 in my heart. I'm telling you, some of us are 00:31:47.279 --> 00:31:50.799 predisposed to only think of others as swindlers 00:31:50.799 --> 00:31:54.910 and players and frauds. We look at this world, 00:31:55.069 --> 00:31:56.849 we walk the streets, we're in the mall, wherever 00:31:56.849 --> 00:31:58.630 we're at. Is the mall even a real thing anymore? 00:31:59.029 --> 00:32:02.309 Does it exist? Whatever the mall equivalent is 00:32:02.309 --> 00:32:05.990 today. I guess you don't have to deal with that 00:32:05.990 --> 00:32:07.769 if you're ordering from Amazon. That's all we 00:32:07.769 --> 00:32:14.730 do. Wherever you're at. If your natural course 00:32:14.730 --> 00:32:17.150 of action is to think, oh, that person over there, 00:32:17.210 --> 00:32:19.289 or they must be this, or that, you know, you 00:32:19.289 --> 00:32:21.970 see the homeless that are in our area, in our 00:32:21.970 --> 00:32:24.109 neighborhood, and your heart is hard toward them, 00:32:24.109 --> 00:32:26.269 and you think, man, that person clearly couldn't 00:32:26.269 --> 00:32:29.890 get their life together. Or, oh, they must be 00:32:29.890 --> 00:32:32.529 a drug addict, and so I'm not even going, somehow 00:32:32.529 --> 00:32:35.710 that's dismissive to me. And I walk around with 00:32:35.710 --> 00:32:42.029 this sort of cynicism, this sort of indifference. 00:32:42.269 --> 00:32:47.750 We're praying that God would change that. The 00:32:47.750 --> 00:32:49.690 reason we would even see that way, the reason 00:32:49.690 --> 00:32:51.750 we can't see people that the way that they are 00:32:51.750 --> 00:32:53.750 is because we don't have the eyes of the spirit 00:32:53.750 --> 00:32:58.369 to see beneath. I don't know about you. Oftentimes 00:32:58.369 --> 00:33:00.950 what we see is what someone will come at us and 00:33:00.950 --> 00:33:02.730 we'll see what's on the surface and we'll get 00:33:02.730 --> 00:33:06.470 fearful or offended or we won't like someone 00:33:06.470 --> 00:33:09.170 because what's on the surface. But the key with 00:33:09.170 --> 00:33:12.930 Jesus is he could see beneath the surface. He 00:33:12.930 --> 00:33:15.549 can see beneath the surface. And we can't do 00:33:15.549 --> 00:33:17.970 that on our own, but by the Spirit we can see 00:33:17.970 --> 00:33:20.289 beneath the surface. We can begin to pray and 00:33:20.289 --> 00:33:22.930 say, Lord, what is lingering underneath this 00:33:22.930 --> 00:33:25.569 thing on the outside? What is the thing that 00:33:25.569 --> 00:33:27.369 I can pray for? What is the thing that I can 00:33:27.369 --> 00:33:30.630 come and bring the kingdom to? We don't start 00:33:30.630 --> 00:33:35.009 by trying harder. We start by asking him to reshape 00:33:35.009 --> 00:33:37.670 our hearts to see with the same compassion and 00:33:37.670 --> 00:33:42.319 love that he has. And next you have to expect 00:33:42.319 --> 00:33:44.359 that God is going to answer the prayers that 00:33:44.359 --> 00:33:49.240 you pray through you. Be prepared for it. Get 00:33:49.240 --> 00:33:51.960 ready. You begin to pray the prayer Jesus instructed, 00:33:52.140 --> 00:33:54.440 commanded us to pray. Get ready to be the answer 00:33:54.440 --> 00:33:57.500 to that prayer. And you'll begin to see by the 00:33:57.500 --> 00:34:00.200 Holy Spirit, people, the neighbor who keeps walking 00:34:00.200 --> 00:34:03.240 by, the coworker who starts to hint at spiritual 00:34:03.240 --> 00:34:06.630 things. the family who's in crisis, the person 00:34:06.630 --> 00:34:09.230 at village who looks alone, the friend who keeps 00:34:09.230 --> 00:34:15.289 texting at the most inconvenient hour, because 00:34:15.289 --> 00:34:18.190 they're drowning inside. And they don't know 00:34:18.190 --> 00:34:23.690 how to say that. But by the Spirit, we can pray 00:34:23.690 --> 00:34:27.710 and ask for discernment. Help me to see that, 00:34:28.170 --> 00:34:33.360 so I know how to deal with this. how to bring 00:34:33.360 --> 00:34:34.960 the kingdom to it. The Spirit will bring them 00:34:34.960 --> 00:34:37.460 to mind and because they are part of the harvest 00:34:37.460 --> 00:34:41.579 that Jesus sees. And finally, friends, you don't 00:34:41.579 --> 00:34:44.679 need a microphone. You don't need a title. You 00:34:44.679 --> 00:34:47.639 don't need a platform. You don't even need training. 00:34:49.619 --> 00:34:52.239 I lived in a time where we had like evangelism 00:34:52.239 --> 00:34:53.780 training or something like that. You don't even 00:34:53.780 --> 00:34:57.199 need it. You don't need it. You just need to 00:34:57.199 --> 00:34:59.659 start being available to do what Spirit -filled 00:34:59.659 --> 00:35:02.820 disciples do. And that is ask questions like, 00:35:02.940 --> 00:35:07.360 hey, can I pray for you? Or listen well to see 00:35:07.360 --> 00:35:11.139 what's underneath the surface. Or invite someone 00:35:11.139 --> 00:35:14.219 to come with you on the spiritual journey of 00:35:14.219 --> 00:35:17.800 seeking Christ together, be it at home in a Bible 00:35:17.800 --> 00:35:21.559 study or here at church. Or share your story 00:35:21.559 --> 00:35:24.619 or become a bridge in their life to something 00:35:24.619 --> 00:35:28.179 better. To interrupt your routine long enough 00:35:28.179 --> 00:35:31.840 to care. Because sometimes the smallest step 00:35:31.840 --> 00:35:37.300 that you take is the moment God uses to bring 00:35:37.300 --> 00:35:41.139 someone else the final mile home. We need to 00:35:41.139 --> 00:35:44.559 take those steps, don't we? This whole story, 00:35:44.599 --> 00:35:46.579 the crowds, the compassion, the harvest, the 00:35:46.579 --> 00:35:48.760 prayer, it's not first and foremost about what 00:35:48.760 --> 00:35:52.440 we do. It's about what Jesus did. He didn't just 00:35:52.440 --> 00:35:54.860 feel compassion from a distance. He didn't just 00:35:54.860 --> 00:35:57.269 diagnose the harvest. He didn't just. pray for 00:35:57.269 --> 00:35:59.429 work as he himself was the worker the Father 00:35:59.429 --> 00:36:02.550 sent. He was thrust out from heaven into the 00:36:02.550 --> 00:36:05.889 world, thrown into our brokenness, driven by 00:36:05.889 --> 00:36:10.010 love into the deepest darkness and sent to rescue 00:36:10.010 --> 00:36:14.230 sinners like you and me. Sent to gather one more 00:36:14.230 --> 00:36:18.150 wandering soul, a shepherd for those who had 00:36:18.150 --> 00:36:21.650 no shepherd. And now the risen Jesus looks at 00:36:21.650 --> 00:36:25.519 us. his church, his people, his disciples, you 00:36:25.519 --> 00:36:29.179 and I, and he says, will you join me? Will you 00:36:29.179 --> 00:36:32.760 join me in bringing the kingdom to this reality, 00:36:32.880 --> 00:36:37.559 to this world? See what I see, feel what I feel, 00:36:37.940 --> 00:36:42.420 and do what I do. The world around us right here 00:36:42.420 --> 00:36:46.039 in Sacramento is full of people that Jesus sees 00:36:46.039 --> 00:36:48.880 with that punch in the gut kind of compassion. 00:36:50.539 --> 00:36:55.900 May village be a church that sees them too. And 00:36:55.900 --> 00:37:02.099 may God send us out forcefully, joyfully, and 00:37:02.099 --> 00:37:04.579 urgently into his harvest. Will you join me in 00:37:04.579 --> 00:37:04.719 praying?